


dad hood

by ZinniaRae



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Family, M/M, maybe ooc?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 01:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9855755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZinniaRae/pseuds/ZinniaRae
Summary: "You're tellin' me a three year old is more frightening than everything we've been through?""...Significantly."Or the one where Jason and Roy raise Lian.





	1. Age 3, pt 1.

“Roy, you can’t do this.” Jason was leaning in the doorway, concrete eyes locked on Roy as he tossed a pair of jeans into a ratty duffle bag. “Let me go instead of you.”

“Dick asked me specifically, Jay.” Roy sighed, pausing his packing to look up at his boyfriend. “I’ll be gone, what, three days max? You can handle this.”

Jason could handle a lot of things. Drug Lords. Assassins. Aliens. Supervillains with gimmicks that made him pause and ask himself ‘what the fuck is in Gotham’s water?’ _This_ , however, was something he could not handle. His response came as a scoff, his hand slapping against the door frame.

“Jason, you can handle this.” Roy repeated emphasizing each word before moving away from the bed. He crossed the room, his packing forgotten about for the moment. “You’re Red Hood. You make drug lords and mafia families piss themselves at the sound of your name. You’re tellin’ me a three year old is more frightening than all the shit we’ve been through?”

A pause as Jason’s eyes locked onto Roy’s, his lips scrunching to the side. Fear. He wasn’t _too_ proud to admit that he got scared sometimes, at least not to Roy. This however? This was scarier than almost anything he’d faced before. Thinking about it, he was pretty sure he’d go another round with the Joker over this. Maybe that was a stretch. Maybe not. “Significantly.” He finally replied.

His nose scrunched as he watched amusement flicker in Roy’s eyes, a chuckle slipped from his lips. “Seriously? You’re great with Lian. She _loves_ you, Jason. You know everything you need to do. Hell, you do it on a daily basis already.”

“Yeah, but never _alone_.”

“You have Kori’s number. You have Babs’ number. You have Alfred’s number. Any one of them will be willing to help if you need it. You know that. Don’t be too proud to call if you have to, but I know you’ve got this. You’re Red Hood. You’re Jason Todd.” Roy said, pressing a kiss to his forehead before he went back to his packing.

“Yeah, I’m Red Hood.” came Jason’s muttered reply, still watching from the doorway.

 

***

“I’ll be back as soon as possible, alright pumpkin?” Roy asked, adjusting Lian in his arms. “Meanwhile, Jay’s gonna take care of you. Alright? Be good for him, don’t give him too much trouble.” He grinned before he leaned in, pressing a kiss to one cheek and then another.

“I be good for Jay-Jay!” Lian promised as she grabbed her father’s face between two little hands, pulling him in and giving him a kiss.

Roy carefully sat her down before crossing over to Jason, pulling him into a hug. “You can do this, okay? I believe in you. I love you, Jason.” Pulling away from the hug, the couple kissed before Roy was reluctantly separating.

“Love you too.” Jason responded. His nerves were still fluttering about and he was questioning whether he was too proud to _beg_ Roy to stay, to tell Dick he absolutely couldn’t help on whatever Titan mission he was needed for. Hell, Jason was half-tempted to call Dick himself and tell him Roy couldn’t do it, find another archer and leave his alone. But he _couldn’t_ do that. Roy was trusting him with Lian, the thing in life that meant more to him than _anything_ else. How could Jason let him down by rejecting that? He had to fight through his nerves. He had to do this. No matter how much he was scared of messing this up. “Keep in touch, alright?”

“I’ll call every chance I get.”

Then he was gone. Then Jason and Lian were standing in the hallway and he was pretty sure he’d never been more clueless in his life. That was, until those big brown eyes looked up at him. “Princess movie?”

“Huh?” Jason blinked down at her before shaking his head. Right. “You want to watch The Little Mermaid? Alright, we can do that.” Yeah, this was easy. Bending down, he scooped Lian into his arms and carried her to the living room, gently depositing her onto the couch while he set up the DVD player. “Want a snack?” He asked, skipping through the previews.

“Cookie?”

“You want a cookie? You got it, princess.” If Roy was there, he’d remind Jason for the umpteenth time that she wasn’t supposed to have sweets before dinner and then she was only supposed to have one or two cookies or ice cream or whatever sweet thing she was asking for. Roy wasn’t there though -- and Jason couldn’t tell her ‘no’.

 

***

Two watch throughs of The Little Mermaid, three cookies, a dinner of spaghetti, bath time, and two goodnight stories later; Lian was tucked away in bed and Jason had survived the day. There had been a small breakdown when he refused to let her have _more_ cookies after dinner (“Yes, I know you always get cookies after dinner but you had three while watching your movie, sweetheart.”), but Jason had handled it. He fell back into bed, asking himself how the fuck single mothers did it. Most of them had to work on top of everything they did for their kid. He was exhausted from just an afternoon.

His phone buzzed on the nightstand and he reached for it a little too eagerly. ‘ _Get her to bed alright? Sorry, can’t call. Love you both.’_ He could feel his heart fall at the idea of not hearing Roy’s voice before he fell asleep. Having Roy near always made him sleep better, always calmed his nightmares. This was the first night in _forever_ that he could remember falling asleep without him and it was uncomfortable. What if the nightmares came back? What if he woke up Lian with his screaming? He couldn’t do that. He just _couldn’t_.

 _‘Everything’s good. Take care of yourself. We love you.’_  He texted back, dropping his phone back on the nightstand. He rolled onto his side, staring blankly at the side of the bed where Roy was usually sprawled out. Slowly reaching out, he grabbed Roy’s pillow and buried his face in it. His nostrils were filled with the scent of Roy’s shampoo and if Jason closed his eyes, imagined just hard enough -- he could pretend Roy was there with him.

He had no idea when he actually fell asleep but he had, until he felt two little hands reaching up and pushing against his back. Jason rolled over, eyes looking at the clock first. It was a little after three in the morning, and then he looked to the culprit. “Jay-Jay?” Lian said quietly, her voice slightly shaky. “I had bad dream.”

It was one of those moments where Jason didn’t need to think, he just moved over to Roy’s side of the bed, patting his spot. “C’mon. You can sleep with me, princess.” He said, opening his arms. The three year old scrambled onto the bed before crawling into Jason’s arms. He ran his fingers through her short dark hair, humming quietly. His eyes were heavy and Jason wanted to fall back to sleep, could have _so_ easily. That wasn’t the point. He needed to be there for Lian, needed to make sure she got back to sleep and didn’t have another nightmare, so he hummed softly, a lullaby he remembered from his mother during the good times, the brief moments of sobriety.

When his humming finally stopped, all he heard was her quiet snoring -- something that was extremely reminiscent of her father -- and that was enough to lull him back to sleep.

 

***

Jason was awoken the next morning by a pajama-clad three year old, sitting atop his chest. “Breakfast JayJay!” She cheered as soon as he opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, trying to fight off the sleepiness before nodding.

“Breakfast it is. What d’ya want?” He asked, sitting up.

“Pancakes! Chocolate chip pancakes!” She answered within a second.

Roy was going to honestly _kill_ him with how much sugar he’d pumped Lian full of while he was gone. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours yet. It just went back to him struggling to tell her ‘no’, struggling to put his foot down when it came to her. “Chocolate chip pancakes it is.” Jason grinned, climbing out of bed and taking Lian in his arms, carrying her to the kitchen with him. He put her in a chair before he got to work on the pancakes, with Lian providing the soundtrack to his morning by singing what she could remember from ‘Kiss The Girl’ over and over _and over_ again.

Maybe it should have annoyed him. If it was anybody else singing partial lyrics to a song on repeat, it probably would have. But this was Lian, the little girl who had his heart just as much as her father did. He actually _liked_ listening to her sing and when he was finishing up flipping the pancakes, he started to sing along.

Was this happiness? Because Jason was pretty sure this was a level of euphoria he’d never experienced before. It was so domestic yet it just came...naturally? When he and Roy started dating, Jason knew Lian was going to be a large part of that. He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. He just didn’t realize how easily he’d fall into a parenting role.

 

***

After breakfast, they watched The Little Mermaid again and then Lian wanted to play. Did Jason say no? Of course not.

He was sitting on the floor, a plastic tiara haphazardly on his head and one of the Red Hood toys from BatBurger in his hand. He was still confused as to how the tiara came into play here but Lian had put it on his head and he didn’t dare question it. Sitting across from him, Lian had on a matching tiara and her Ariel doll in hand. The two dolls were getting married because they didn’t have an Arsenal doll and Ariel had ‘red hair like daddy!’

He’d already made up his mind that Roy wasn’t going to live down being compared to Ariel.

“Okays! Now dey haffta kiss!” Lian instructed but before the two dolls could ‘kiss’, there was a knock on the front door and her little nose wrinkled out of what Jason assumed was annoyance that her game had gotten interrupted.

“I’ll be right back, princess. Stay here, okay? You can finish the wedding without me.” He got a pouty lip and a grumbled ‘okay’ in response as he was hopping to his feet, going to the front door to see who interrupted Lian’s game and was going to endure her wrath. He tugged it open to see Tim, who had the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

“Is the tiara new? I think it’s a good look for you.”

“Fuck off.” Jason rolled his eyes. “Why are you even here?” He had an aching feeling that he knew. That he was checking up on him to make sure he had permanently scarred Lian or wasn't letting her play with his guns or something utterly ridiculous. Tim didn't have the faith in him that Roy did, not that Jason  _blamed_ him. It did sting a bit though, if he was being honest.

“I was curious how things were going with Lian.” Tim said, pushing past Jason and making his way into the apartment. Almost immediately, he was being barreled into by Lian, tiny arms wrapping around his legs as she cheered a ‘Timmy!’. “Seems like everything’s going fine.”

“Shocked?” Jason asked, walking back into the living room after closing the front door.

“To be honest? A little.” Tim admitted as Lian tugged on his hand, pulling him down onto the floor with her.

“JayJay stopped playing. Your turn.” She declared before stomping over to Jason and holding out her little hand.

It didn’t take Jason long to realize she wanted the tiara back and he removed it from his head, handing it to her. “I don’t get to be a princess anymore?” He asked, feigning a pout before he fell back onto the couch.

“You stopped playing!” Yeah, okay, valid point. Amusement flickered on Jason’s face as Lian marched back over to Tim and put the tiara on his head, handing him the Red Hood doll. “They is getting married!” She said as she sat across from him, picking the Ariel doll up once more.

“Wait.” Tim looked between Ariel and Red Hood before his eyes went over to Jason. “Is Ariel meant to be Roy?”

“Yep.”

“Oh my god, that’s great.” Tim laughed before Lian was clearing her throat to get his attention. “Um, right. So what’s going on?”

An annoyed huff came from the toddler who Jason was almost _certain_ got half her attitude from her mother. “Dey kiss!” Lian replied as if Tim was the child in this situation. “At a wedding, you kiss!”

“They kiss, Timbo.” Jason said from his position on the couch, grinning ear to ear. “Haven’t you ever been to a wedding before?” The glare he got was certainly worth it as he watched Lian make the dolls press their ‘lips’ together.

 

***

Tim stayed for lunch and left before dinner. After dinner, Jason convinced her that they should definitely watch another movie besides The Little Mermaid and Lian settled on Aladdin. She ended up falling asleep halfway through and Jason just carried her to his and Roy’s bed, deciding to play it safe. If she had another nightmare, he’d be there for her immediately. After exchanging a few texts with Roy, making sure everything was okay, Jason called it a night.

The bed behind him shifted in the early morning hours and Jason’s eyes immediately shot open. The first thing he saw was Lian, still peacefully sprawled out on over half the bed (how in the hell did a toddler take up so much damn room?), snoring and he was on the verge of panic until he felt a familiar arm drape over his waist. “It’s just me, Jaybird.” Roy whispered and Jason relaxed. “Mission didn’t take as long as Dick estimated it would so I thought I’d surprise you.” He said as he nuzzled his face into the crook of Jason’s neck, breathing him in. “I see you replaced me.” His breathy chuckle tickled Jason’s neck, made a shiver run down his spine.

“She had a bad dream last night. Figured I’d be proactive tonight.” Jason responded, his hand moving to entwine with Roy's as he just relaxed against him.

“Have any issues?”

“...No.” Jason admitted.

“Told you so. You have this whole daddy thing on lock.”

Something bubbled in Jason’s chest. Pride? Joy? Fatherhood was something he’d written off _long_ ago, even before he died. A mixture between fear of being a failure like his own and just assuming he’d never have that opportunity granted to him. But hearing he was doing a good job at it? Yeah, it was pretty damn nice. “You were right.” Jason mumbled, giving Roy’s hand a squeeze. “Don’t get used to it, doesn’t happen often.” Roy snorted and he let go of his hand to elbow him. “Quiet. You’re going to wake her.”

“Whatever you say, Dad Hood.”

“Roy, I swear to God.”


	2. Age 3, pt 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or the one where the floor is lava.

A calm night where Roy and Jason could actually fall into bed together without _someone’s_ communicator going off? Almost as rare as a criminal not managing to bust out of Arkham. That was why they savored it when it happened. The unfortunate part came when they were too damned exhausted from the previous cycle of never-ending nights and potentially life-ending fights that they just wanted to sleep, didn’t worry about getting their hands all over each other. Not that post-mission ‘we didn’t die’ sex was lacking from their relationship or anything.

Jason’s head was on Roy’s shoulder, calloused fingers running through dark locks, slowly lulling him to sleep. Even knowing that didn’t stop Roy from talking. “I was thinkin’ we should take Lian to the aquarium this weekend. Ever since Stephanie showed her Finding Dory, she hasn’t been able to stop talking about fish. Maybe we could make a day out of it? Watch Finding Nemo and Finding Dory after the aquarium?”

“Mm,” Was the response he got from Jason whose eyes were heavy with sleep. Realizing he should probably contribute more to the conversation, he fought off the sleep for a little while longer. “Could do that. Probably shouldn’t have fish sticks for dinner afterwards.” He mumbled with a small smirk.

Roy snorted. “Right. Probably should take fish sticks off the shopping list.”

“I’ll do it in the morning.” Jason said as he nuzzled his head against Roy’s hand. “Don’t stop.” He was quick to add.

“Whatever you want, Jaybird.”

With Roy seemingly done talking about weekend plans, Jason allowed his eyes to close again. It was so damned easy to fall asleep next to Roy like this, feeling his fingers tease his scalp and ease away pent up anxiety. He felt himself starting to slip, Roy rolling onto his side and lazily draping his arm around his center, his fingers still not stopping their gentle petting. He had almost welcomed sleep when tiny footsteps echoed across the bedroom floor and the bed dipped as a certain three year old squirmed onto it.

“Bedtime story!” Lian declared, wiggling her way between Jason and Roy -- who were now very much awake.

“Sweetheart, didn’t Jay read you two bedtime stories before putting you to bed?”

“Yeah, I want another.” Lian shrugged, making herself comfortable between the two of them. Her head was on her father’s chest, her little legs propped up on Jason’s stomach.

“Lian - “

“Alright. One more story and you go to bed. Okay princess?” Jason asked, rubbing at his eyes. He glanced over at Roy, gave him a little smile before mouthing ‘it’s okay’.

“Okies!”

“Right then.” Jason’s lips scrunched to the side. He looked over onto the nightstand, sighing when the only book he had was his overly worn copy of Pride and Prejudice. Lian wouldn’t be interested in that, because he’d tried before and she asked for a 'fun' story. Racking his brain for _something_ , he gave a little sigh and decided to just wing it. Dick would be proud. “Once upon a time…”

 

***

  
“And the angry little prince wasn’t as angry anymore because he finally had what he had always wanted -- a real family.” Jason finished his story about twenty minutes later. Lian had fallen asleep about ten minutes into the story, quiet little snores leaving her. But he continued, not just because he wanted to make sure she _stayed_ asleep, but because Roy had been looking over at him, just as intrigued as the little girl had been.

“Was that a self-insert fairy tale, Jaybird?” Roy asked, his voice growing thick with sleep.

A scoff before a muttered, “...Possibly.” Before he changed the subject. “Should we risk moving her? She’s out.” He said, gesturing toward the snoring toddler.

“Probably not. We should let her stay put. But you know, with the way she sleeps, one of us is going to end up on the floor.”

“Probably.” Jason agreed with a chuckle, shifting as carefully as possible as not to wake Lian but so he was still able to lean over and press a kiss to Roy’s lips. “Goodnight Roy,” He said quietly as he pulled away. “And good luck not ending up on the floor.”

“Ha. Ha. Goodnight Jaybird. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

 

***  


“Swimming, swimming, swimming!” Lian was hopping around the apartment with her brand new beluga whale plush they had gotten on their trip to the aquarium where she had decided that beluga whales were now her favorite animal. “JayJay, look!” She giggled before tossing the stuffed animal clear across the room. “Swimming!”

Jason chuckled, shaking his head. “Careful princess. Your daddy won’t be happy if you break a lamp.” Not that Roy had _any_ room to talk. How many times had he broken a lamp or something else? The first example that came to mind was their toaster which Roy _swore_ he could put back together, he just needed a part from it for something he was working on.

Jason had to buy a new toaster a week later because Roy ended up losing _all_ of the parts he needed to put it back together.

“I’s careful!” She promised as she raced over to pick up the stuffed animal.

The doorbell rung and Jason hopped up. “That should be your uncle. He’s actually on time, surprisingly.” He mumbled, mostly to himself, before he was answering the door. “I’m surprised you had the time to watch her.” Jason greeted Dick, who offered a smile.

“Always have time for my favorite niece.”

Just the sound of his voice was enough to alert Lian to who was there and she came running to the front door, trying her best not to trip over little legs. “Uncle Ickie!” Lian squealed as Dick scooped her into his arms, spinning her around. That was when he paused, eyebrow cocking toward Jason who was trying his best not to snicker.

“ _Ickie_ ?” He said the word slowly, adjusting the toddler in his grasp. His eyes turned to her, curious. “Lian, did Jason tell you to call me  _Ickie_?”

“Uh-huh! JayJay says Uncle Ickie is yous name.” She declared proudly and that was when Jason couldn’t hold back his snickers any longer, actually, they turned into full-blown laughter.

“Honestly? I just thought it would be funny.” Jason admitted, watching as Dick carefully put Lian back down before she scurried back off to (no doubt) gather her toys.

“Great. Thanks for that.”

“Anytime. So I shouldn’t be long. I just need to grab a few groceries for the week and Roy had things to take care of.” Jason shrugged. “You know the drill with her, you’ve been doing this long enough to know how she works.” He grinned a bit. “But if you need anything, just call.”

“Of course." Dick nodded before, "Hey Jay, this is nice, y’know. I never expected this.” Dick said, reaching out to put a hand on the shoulder of his younger ‘brother’.

“What?”

“You being so domestic. It’s good. You seem happy.”

It was _extremely_ domestic. Not that he wasn’t still getting into an immense amount of trouble at night, but his days were filled with stuffed animals and dolls, Disney movies and plastic tiaras. It would be a lie if he said he didn’t enjoy it. It was...completing. It was the very thing Jason never imagined having and now that he had it -- he didn’t want to let it go. Losing Lian and Roy would be worse than death. “Yeah, I am.” He smiled, wholeheartedly. “Lian, princess, I’m going to be right back, okay? Uncle Ickie,” He caught the glare from Dick at the nickname but it _definitely_ wasn’t changing. “is going to watch you. Be good for him.”

“Wait!” Tiny footsteps grew closer as she raced back to the door. “I miss you, JayJay.” She said, wrapping her arms around his legs.

Moments like these made his heart flutter in his chest and Jason felt way too damned euphoric. He bent down, giving her a little smile. “I’ll be right back, Lian. But I’ll miss you too.” He said, kissing her forehead before standing back up. “Be good to Uncle Ickie for me.”

“I will!” She promised before Jason left.

 

***

Gunmetal eyes could only blink at the scene he was currently observing and Jason opened his mouth, closed it. Opened it again and closed it again before finally settling on, “Dick, is there a reason you’re currently standing on the couch? With your shoes still on?” He asked, adjusting his grip on the grocery bags.

Dick had opened his mouth to answer but Lian, who he was holding on his shoulders, spoke up for him. “The floor is lava, JayJay!” And the way she said it...with such _belief_ and urgency. Like their nicely carpeted floor really was hot lava.

“Is it?” Jason responded before walking to the kitchen, putting the items that needed to be in the refrigerator up and just leaving the other bags on the counter before leaning against the doorway, eyeing the two on the couch.

“You heard her, the floor is lava!” Dick repeated with the same urgency and belief in his tone. “C’mon, Jay! If you stay down there too long, you’ll burn.”

“JayJay! Hurry!”

 

***

It was less than thirty minutes later when the front door to the apartment opened again and Roy was just blinking -- slowly, trying to comprehend _why_ Jason was now standing on an armchair while Dick still had Lian on his shoulders, sitting on the back of the couch. Not that he had to wonder long before Lian was yelling, “Daddy! The floor is lava!”

A look of unadulterated _panic_ etched itself onto Roy’s features as he took a step into the living room, looking between the couch and the armchair before he dropped to his knees on the floor. “No! The lava! It burns!” He cried out dramatically. He waved his arms above his head wildly, reaching out toward the armchair and the couch. “Save me! Somebody save me before I burn to a crisp!”

“Uncle Ickie! JayJay! Daddy’s gonna burn!”

Just as Dick was about to put Lian down so he could reach out and pull Roy onto the couch with them, Jason did just that. He grabbed Roy’s hand, yanking him up onto the armchair with him; all without letting himself touch the ‘lava’.  “I feel like I’m always saving your ass, Harper.”

“Bad word, JayJay!”

“Oops.” Jason chuckled, taking a seat on the back of the armchair as Roy leaned against one of his thighs.

“Quick question. How are we going to do dinner with the floor being lava?”

Dick looked up at Lian. “When does the floor stop being lava?”

“When I says so.”

“Is the floor not lava yet?” Roy asked.

“Nope!”


	3. Age 4, pt 1.

It took everything in him to be able to drag himself up the fire escape and through the window. He had let his mind wander for a single second and this happened. This as in the extremely painful bullet lodged in his thigh. He wasn’t bleeding out, at least he didn’t think so. Jason fell onto the living room floor with a thud, wincing as he hit the hardwood. So much for not being loud. At least the sound had gotten Roy’s attention, footsteps echoing from their bedroom toward the living room. Jason braced himself against the wall, taking his helmet off and dropping it onto the floor next to him while he waited for Roy to appear. His holsters were next and he tried to get a good look at the bullet wound. It was in there deep, but it didn’t go straight through. _Great_.

“What the he - Jaybird?” Roy’s voice was hardly above a whisper as he came into the living room, clad in just pajama pants and his red hair an absolute mess. “What happened?” He moved closer, bending down in front of him. Green eyes moved to the wound on his leg and he let out a low whistle. “Damn Jason, what did you do?”

“You know letting your guard down is usually a mistake.” Jason sighed. He hated making mistakes, he hated _admitting_ to them at that. “Wanna fix me up so we can get some sleep?” Getting a nod, he tossed his arm over Roy’s shoulder as he helped him to his feet, carefully walking him to the bedroom. Jason limped, still wincing with each step.

“So what happened? Or do I want to know?” Roy asked, sighing quietly as he helped him into the bedroom. He laid Jason back on the bed, getting his fingers on the buttons of his pants and giving them a tug down. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the usual fun after patrol stripping. He looked over the wound, shaking his head before disappearing to the bathroom to find their medkit.

Jason had the aching feeling in his stomach that Roy was disappointed in him and he _knew_ why. When he had moved in, they agreed that there wouldn’t be any of this -- that they’d both be more careful. They didn’t need Lian seeing either of them hurt, especially on the off chance it was bad. When Roy returned, Jason’s fingers were gripping the sheets and he was staring up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry.” He muttered. “I didn’t - I just...I let my guard down for a second and _fuck_ ,” He hissed as Roy poured alcohol on the gaping wound, fingers twisting into the sheets. “I know I wasn’t supposed to let this happen, I just - “

“It’s okay, Jason.” Roy said quietly. “Just let me clean this up and get this damn bullet out of you, alright?” It was slightly snippy and Jason just wanted to melt into the bed, hide his face and _cry_. Because Roy being disappointed in him was terrible. It made his heart ache, made his stomach hurt. He disappointed everybody else, never Roy.

So Jason just bit his lip, tried to be silent as Roy had the tweezers in the hole, trying to get a grip on the bullet. It slipped and Jason couldn’t help his gasp, couldn’t help the loud, “Fuck!”, that left him. Normally he was good with handling this but it had been a while, he wasn’t _used_ to the pain anymore. He got a mumbled ‘sorry’ from Roy as he finally pulled the bullet out of his leg, dropping it onto the bed next to him.

As Jason’s luck had it, his gasp and shout was enough to wake up the only other person in the house. The two men didn’t have enough time to move and try and hide what was going on as a little face poked into the door. “Daddy? JayJay?” Lian asked quietly, brown eyes growing wide as she looked at what was going on. “JayJay hurt? What happened?” She took a step into the room, trying to peak over her father’s shoulder..

“Lian, go to bed.” Roy said, turning to look at her. " _Now_.”

“But Daddy! JayJay’s hurt!” Her little voice was full of so much concern, so much worry as she tried to look at Jason. “Daddy! What happened?”

“Lian!” Roy snapped. “Go. To. Bed. _Now_.” Just her father yelling at her was enough to make her sniffle, make her run off to her bedroom and Roy cursed under his breath before going back to Jason’s leg. “Don’t...don’t tell me. I know I just...she doesn’t need to see this shit, Jay.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want her growing up seeing this shit. I wanna give her the best childhood possible and this isn’t it. I just...fuck.” He paused, shaking his head. “Now she’s going to have questions and I don’t know what to say and -”

“Let me take care of it,” Jason said quietly. “This is my fault so let me try and fix it. Please Roy? Let me do this for you and Lian.”

***

 

After Roy bandaged up his leg, with a slight limp, Jason made his way into Lian’s room. A nightlight that projected the moon and stars onto the ceiling was the only lighting in her room, barely highlighting her light grey walls and the bookshelf it was sitting on. Underneath the heavy pink duvet cover, he saw her little body shift slightly. Obviously still awake. “Princess?” His voice was soft as he made his way over her fluffy white rug, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He gave a content little sigh now that the pressure was off his leg, a hand moving onto Lian’s shoulder. A little sniffle was the response he got and a sigh left him.

This wasn’t a topic he knew how to approach or even a conversation he knew how to start. Jason just knew he needed to fix this... _quickly_ . The memory of seeing his own father with a bullet in him, getting picked out and bragging about it was playing in his head. Of course, he _wasn’t_ Lian’s father and she had a much more stable home life than he ever had. That didn’t mean this wouldn’t affect her in the future if he didn't try and save it now.

“JayJay,” Lian’s voice was quiet although it sounded like she had been crying. That made Jason’s heart _shatter_. She rolled over to face him and it was confirmed that Lian, in fact, had been crying. Puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. “Are you okay?”

Reaching out, he pushed some hair away from her face, giving her a little smile. “I’m fine, baby.”

“You were hurt. I saw it. You were bleeding.”

“Yeah,” He said softly, nodding a bit. “I was. I’m sorry you had to see that. I bet it was scary.”

“Why were you hurt, JayJay?”

Raking a hand through his hair, Jason thought of a good enough answer for that. The truth? Lian already knew a _little_ about what Jason, Roy and all their acquaintances did at night. She knew Jason was Red Hood, she knew Roy was Arsenal -- but she was also pretty good at keeping that little secret. “Lian, there are bad things in this world. Bad people. But there’s also good people who try and stop the bad people,”

“Yous one of the good people, right JayJay?”

_Good_ was never a word that Jason would use to describe himself. He didn’t feel like he was _good_ , didn’t think he’d ever be good. He swallowed, not answering for a moment. Lian deserved the truth -- but he didn’t want her to think he was a _monster_ , someone terrible and worthless. He didn’t want her to see him as he saw himself.

“JayJay’s one of the good guys.” Came Roy’s voice from the doorway and Jason breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God for Roy.

Since he didn’t have to say it, Jason took a deep breath and turned his attention back to Lian. “And sometimes...sometimes the bad guys hurt the good guys, they hurt people. But...but the good guys are okay with it because they knew if they’re hurt, it means the bad guys didn’t hurt anybody innocent.”

“A bad guy hurt you JayJay?”

“Yeah, sweetheart.” He sighed, stroking her hair back again. “But see, I’m okay now. Your daddy fixed my leg up and now it’s just a booboo.” He could hear Roy still in the doorway, trying not to snort at Jason referring to the bullet hole in his thigh as a ‘booboo’.  “And the bad guy is going to jail where he can’t hurt anybody ever again.”

Lian nodded as she looked up at him. “I don’t like seeing yous hurt, JayJay.”

“I know, baby girl.”

“I love you, JayJay.” She sat up, her arms wrapping around him gently.

He paused, eyes widening slightly. He arms came around Lian on instinct as he processed what she said. Lian  _loved_ him. She  _lo_ _ved_ him. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt warm tears sting the corners. “I love you too, Lian.” He said quietly, kissing the top of her head. “I love you so much.” He had loved her the moment she came into his life, the first time she ever smiled at him. He just wasn’t going to say it and make her feel like she needed to say it back. Instead, he’d let her say it first. Jason held her to his side for a moment before slowly pulling away. “Alright, get some sleep, princess. No more crying, okay?”

As she laid back down, he kissed her forehead and stood up. “Goodnight Lian,” He said as he hobbled over to the doorway.

“Goodnight JayJay,” She said quietly.

***

  
Back in the bedroom he and Roy shared, Jason positioned himself back on the bed and sighed, blue eyes turning up to Roy as he entered the room. “I don’t think that went so badly, do you?” He asked and Jason Todd was _afraid_ of the answer. He didn’t want Roy to be _angry_ with him. He didn’t want this all to fall apart and Jason _knew_ it was ridiculous just how much he feared losing what he had here...but it was everything to him. It gave him more of a purpose than anything ever had. For once, he wasn’t being fueled by anger...he was fueled by compassion, by love.

Crossing over to his own side of the bed, Roy plopped down in silence and Jason could feel the lump in his throat growing. Until Roy was _snickering_ . “What’s so funny, Harper?” And it came out a little grumpier than he meant for it to. He just...he was preparing for Roy to kick him, tell him it was all over and Roy was _laughing_.

“Sorry, sorry.” Although it was clear Roy _really_ wasn’t. He took a breath to compose himself, running a hand through hair that was still disheveled from his attempt at sleep earlier, before Jason came crashing through the living room window. “I just -- I was thinking about how you called the _bullet_ _hole_ in your thigh a boo-boo. I mean, I’m just trying to deal with the fact Red Hood _knows_ the word boo-boo.”

Jason rolled his eyes, “I was a kid once too, y’know.”

“And you wore those cute little green panties.”

“Roy. Are -- are things okay? I mean,”

Leaning over, Roy wrapped an arm around Jason’s shoulders, gently tugging him in so he could lean against him. “Things are okay, Jaybird. It was only a matter of time before one of us crawled through our window all messed up. It happens. I guess I just wanted to pretend that Lian wouldn’t ever see it, she’d be blissfully ignorant until I felt she was old enough to understand.”

He was tracing circles on Jason’s upper arm, calming his mind. “I just...I explained all of that okay, yeah? I don’t want Lian feeling...helpless. Like she could have done something or I don’t know. I don’t want to scar her for life.”

“You explained it as good as any of us could have, I think.” Roy murmured. “I don’t think you scarred her for life either. It was as controlled as possible and yeah, I think we did pretty well on that one.” He leaned in, pressing a kiss to Jason’s temple before adding, “One thing, Jay, _please_ be more careful.”

Jason swallowed before nodding. “Yeah, of course.” Because next time it could be worse. What if something happened that Roy couldn’t pull him back from?

“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you. Don’t even wanna think about what Lian would do without you.” It was a quiet admission but one of those that meant the world to Jason who nodded.

“She loves me.” Jason added, his eyes even lighting up as he remembered because Lian had _said_ it to him first. She _loved_ him.

“Pretty sure she’s loved you since the beginning, Jaybird.” Roy chuckled. “Now, unless you plan on going out and getting shot a few more times, let’s get some sleep.”


	4. Age 4, pt 2.

Acting purely on instinct, Jason tucked his head underneath his pillow. He was still too asleep to register what was waking him up, he just knew he didn’t _want_ to be awake. It had been a long night giving Bruce a hand with some of Two Face’s shenanigans. He had barely crawled in through the window before the sun was rising and Jason had an aching feeling it wasn’t long after that he was being woken up. The noise wasn’t stopping, audible even through his pillow, and now the bed was moving. Jason shifted, tossed the pillow onto the floor as his eyes blinked open and looked up.

Roy’s side of the bed was empty, in his place was a Minnie Mouse pajama clad Lian jumping up and down. “JayJay! JayJay! Wake up! Wake up! I go to school today.”

Jason could have facepalmed. How could he forget? Lian was starting preschool! Both he and Roy were a bit reluctant to let her out of their sight, especially when Gotham public schools were pretty crap, but Bruce had pulled some strings and gotten Lian into one of those fancy-shmancy preschools. Normally, Jason would have rather walked on hot coals than ask Bruce for help with _anything_ but Lian was an exception.

He forced himself to wake up, to push aside that groggy tiredness and share Lian’s excitement. “Yeah, you do. Did you think I forgot, princess?” He asked, pushing himself to sit up. He reached over, grabbed her and stopped her from jumping and pulled her into his lap. “Why are you still in your pajamas? You can’t wear those to school.” He teased. “Where is your daddy?”

“Making breakfast! He said it was a special day so we needed a special breakfast,” replied Lian as she snuggled herself into Jason. “So I decided to wake you up.”

Roy cooking? Jason sniffed the air, expecting to smell something burning because Roy didn’t hold a very good track record when it came to the kitchen. It was why Jason normally did all of the cooking or they had takeout. Instead, all he smelt was cinnamon. It was a pretty nice surprise. “Well we should probably get you dressed, huh?” He said, moving her from his lap and onto the bed so he could stand up. He reached onto the floor and grabbed a t-shirt he’d discarded before going out the night before. He tugged it on, waiting for Lian to hop off the bed so they could figure out what exactly she was going to wear on her first day of preschool.

*******

 

Despite the fact they had just gone out the week before and bought Lian a new outfit just for her first day of school, she didn’t want to wear it. So Jason was standing in front of her closet, grabbing out clothing items and holding them up for her approval.

“Nope. Nope. Nope. JayJay, I don’t like that dress!” Lian had her arms crossed over her chest, sitting on the edge of her bed and swinging her legs impatiently. “That!” She _finally_ decided, pointing at the dress Jason was holding up.

He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful he didn’t get to her Cinderella costume because he was pretty certain if Lian had her way, she’d be wearing _that_ to her first day of school and what kind of parents did that make him and Roy look like? Ones who couldn’t get their shit together? Why was Jason so damn preoccupied with making a good impression? This was Lian’s first day of school, not his.

*******

 

When all was said and done, Jason had gotten Lian dressed in the dress she had picked out. It was yellow with pink flowers polka-dotting the fabric, and he convinced her to wear a pair of white sandals with it (she would have preferred to be barefoot.) If you asked him, she looked absolutely adorable. She was now sitting at the table, taking bites of the french toast that Roy had made and Jason had cut up for her. The two of them were leaning against the counter, sipping on cups of coffee and trying to process what was happening. “She’s growing up.” Jason muttered over the brim of his cup.

“Don’t remind me.” Roy was not happy about the fact, Jason had been painfully aware because all week he’d been referring to her as ‘his baby’ more frequently and clinging to every moment he could with her. Jason understood it. He didn’t want her grow up either, but did they really have a choice?

He finished his cup, carefully placing the red mug in the sink to wash later. “She’ll only be gone for a few hours. We can clean up this place a bit. It’ll be good for her to socialize.” She was already a little genius, but maybe every parent thought that about their child.

In the last few weeks, Jason had really began to think of himself as a parent. Maybe not biologically and Lian didn’t call him ‘daddy’ but he _felt_ like a parent. He lived there, knew her bedtime routine, knew her favorite movies, knew how she liked her sandwiches cut. He was a part of her life.

A knock at the door caused the two to exchange confused looks before Roy smacked his palm against his forehead. “I totally forgot that Kori was coming with us to drop Lian off."

The thought had slipped Jason as well. If the pair didn’t put their foot down, Lian would have had an army walking up through the doors of the fancy-schmancy school because _everybody_ wanted to see her off. Kori was the one who got the invite because she had been a huge part of Lian’s life since the beginning. Plus, Jason played favorites and Kori was definitely his favorite of Lian’s pseudo-family. He was pretty sure the little girl liked Kori a little bit more too. Who else took her flying (even if it scared Roy half to death every time)?

“Where is my favorite child?” Kori’s cheerful voice filled the apartment, gave it a warmth that Jason didn’t even know it was missing. She entered the kitchen, a bright smile on her face as her eyes fell to Lian who squealed an excited ‘Auntie Kori!’ at the sight of her.

“She looks so beautiful today except --” She paused and Jason cocked an eyebrow. “Did neither of you think to do anything to her hair?”

“I brushed it.” Jason spoke up and the look Kori gave him made him feel like an _idiot_ , made him shrink back against the counter. Only Kori could give him that look and still make it look as loving as she was.

“Lian, sweetheart, would you like for me to do something to your hair?” She asked. When Lian nodded, Kori looked over to Roy. “Do we have the time before she has to go?” Glancing toward the clock, Roy gave her an approving nod before she was scooping Lian up and carrying her toward the bedroom.

*******

 

The makeshift family stood in front of the stairs that led up to Stepping Stones Academy. Lian’s dark hair had been pulled up into a cute little bun by Kori, a pink flower clip added that matched her dress. Roy was knelt on one knee in front of Lian as he explained preschool to her.

“ - And you’re going to make lots of friends, but make sure you make good friends. Some of those kids might not be nice but you should be nice to them anyway. They might not have a happy home like you do. And eat your lunch, even if it’s not your favorite, because you need energy. Be nice to your teachers and -”

“Roy,” Jason stopped him with a gentle smile. “I think she gets it. C’mon, we should walk her inside. Meet her teacher and that jazz. That’s what we’re supposed to do...right?” He asked, glancing toward Kori and Roy like they’d done this before. He got a shrug from Roy in response before he stood up, taking Lian’s hand in his as he led the way up the stairs and into the building.

It smelt _clean_ , which was always a good sign. Lian’s classroom was the first door on the left and they were instantly greeted by a smiling faced brunette. “And who’s this little angel?” She asked, looking down at Lian.

“This is Lian.” Roy introduced her “And I’m Roy, this is my partner Jason and our friend Kori.”

The teacher nodded, still smiling at Lian who was smiling back. “I’m Miss Henderson. It’s lovely to meet you, Lian. I like your flower.”

“Auntie Kori put it in for me!” Lian replied, dark eyes looking behind Miss Henderson and into the classroom where about ten other toddlers were running around.

“That was very nice of her.” Miss Henderson smiled before she looked back up toward the adults. “Is there any questions? I know there’s some anxiety on the first day of school.”

Roy looked to Jason before shaking his head. “No, I guess not.” He said, looking down to Lian. “Alright munchkin, Jay and I are going to go. We’ll be back to pick you up after school, okay?”

“Okay daddy!” Lian replied, letting go of his hand and skipping into the classroom where she almost instantly started to play with a pig-tailed blonde.   
  
Roy was comically wide-eyed as Lian just _left_ them standing there to play with her new friend.  He looked to Jason and then to Kori, like he was double-checking that they were seeing the same thing. “She...she didn’t even say goodbye.” He muttered, his voice almost sounding _defeated_. Jason wanted to laugh, but he was feeling that same ache in his chest at the same time. They were miserable over the idea of Lian going to preschool, and she was a-okay with leaving them. “Lian!” Roy called to her. “Want to tell us goodbye?”

Giggling, she said something to her new friend before running back over. She wrapped one arm around Jason’s leg and the other around Roy’s, squeezing them both. “Bye bye. I love you.” She said, brown eyes turning up to Kori. She let go of the men before hugging Kori. “Bye bye Auntie Kori, I love you.” And before the three could finish saying their ‘I love yous’ back, Lian was back playing with her friend.

Jason and Roy just stood there, watching as she seemingly grew up in front of their eyes. It was an uncomfortable silence between them until Kori reached out, one hand grabbing Roy’s wrist and the other grabbing Jason’s. “Come along. You cannot stand here all day.” She said, giving them both a forceful pull. “Lian will be fine. She’s making friends already.”

“Yeah but,” Roy tried to argue.

“Do not argue with me or I will _carry_ the both of you out of here.”

Jason huffed a sigh, putting a hand on Roy’s shoulder and nodding. “She’s right. We can’t just stand here all day, we gotta let Lian have this. Plus, you know she’s not kidding. She will carry us out of here.” Behind them, Kori made an impatient noise as if to prove her point and Roy sighed, giving in and turning to walk out with the two of them.

“This gets easier, right? I mean, watching her leave?” He asked as they fell into step together on the stairs.

“I sure as hell hope so.” Jason sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I had no idea how to write Kori && I love her so much but just, bleh. I hope I did her just a little bit of justice.


	5. Age 5, pt 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I'm so sorry this took so long. I got caught up in other things last month. However, I have multiple chapters planned out for the most part, I just need to get them written. Expect frequent updates in the next few months!

If you asked Jason what he was expecting when he took Lian grocery shopping with him -- his answer would be ‘ _definitely not this’._ The shopping trip had been a success. They grabbed the essentials and the Sundae Poptarts Lian had given him the puppy dog eyes over and successfully avoided the candy aisle because Roy would _kill_ him if he loaded Lian up on sweets, Jason couldn’t tell her ‘no’. With those big brown eyes, could anybody? They were standing in line to check out, his fingers anxiously tapping on the handle of the shopping cart.

“Jay-Jay, just _one_ lollipop? _Please_ ! They have the cotton candy one!” She was standing by his side, fingers holding loosely onto the bottom of his jacket and tugging to get his attention. She looked up at him, giving him those puppy dog eyes that she _knew_ he couldn’t resist.

Sighing, Jason glanced down at her and then over to the little lollipop display toward the end of the checkout lane. “...Fine. Just one -- and you’ll eat it on the way home so your dad doesn’t find out. It’ll be our little secret, deal?”

“Thank you, Jay-Jay!” She smiled up at him before skipping over to the display, thoughtfully staring at the lollipops until she grabbed the pink and blue swirled one she had been eyeing. Jason let his eyes drift away from her as the line moved up.

They got through the checkout, got out of the store and were on the way home when Lian spoke, pulled the cotton candy lollipop from her mouth and gave a little smile, “Are you and daddy going to get married?”

Jason was one-hundred percent sure his eyes went comically wide, fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he stopped at a red light. He looked over his shoulder at Lian in the backseat, that smile plastered on her face. Married? It had never been considered a possibility because...well...did Roy _want_ that? It was a hell of a lot of commitment. Besides, they’d never actually discussed it and...and what in the hell was he supposed to say to Lian? “Um,” The light turned green and he put his foot on the gas. “What makes you ask that, princess? Did your dad, um, bring it up?”

“Nope.” Lian said, nonchalantly, swaying in the backseat. “It was on a magazine. These people were getting married. You get married when you love someone, right? And you and daddy say you love each other and you _kiss_ ,” The word was said with disgust, “each other soooo I was just thinking.”

Relief flooded through Jason. At least Roy hadn’t brought it up. At least he wasn’t _waiting_ on him to propose or bring it up or - _crap_ . Why did Lian make such a valid point? Should they get married? Did Roy _want_ that? “Oh. Okay, princess.” He turned into the parking garage of their apartment building. “I guess we’ll see what happens.”

“I think you two should get married.”

*******

 

Weekly tea with Alfred was something Jason looked forward to. Especially the times when the manor was empty and it was just the two of them sitting at the kitchen table. He grabbed a cucumber sandwich from the plate, taking a bite and letting a sigh escape him. Lian’s question (suggestion?) had been weighing on his mind more than he’d like for it to. Marrying Roy. The more he thought about it, the more he kind of got used to the idea. It was so _simple_ yet so complicated. It sounded _nice_ and domestic and everything Jason avoided yet craved.

Alfred lowered his tea cup, the china making a quiet ‘clink’ when it hit the table. “Something on your mind, Master Jason?” There was something about the way he posed the question that made it into a _different_  silent question. ‘What was wrong?’ Alfred had dealt with the unstable, emotionally constipated boys that roamed the hallways of the manor, knew how to make you _want_ to talk to him. Or maybe it just made you feel like you had no choice.

Jason took another bite of the sandwich, sighing once again. “Just, Lian said something the other day.” He said, blue-grey eyes glancing up to make eye contact with Alfred. The older gentleman had raised his eyebrows, gesturing for Jason to go on. He didn’t want to, didn’t know why he even brought it up. But maybe this was good, get it off his mind. “She asked if Roy and I are going to get married.”

“Are you?” Alfred posed the question like he was speaking to a child, slow and simple.

But the answer wasn’t _simple_. It was a hell of a lot more complicated than just a yes or a no. “I don’t...I mean...I don’t know.” He stuffed what was left of the sandwich into his mouth in a very impolite way that had Alfred glaring at him from across the table. “I don’t know if Roy wants to get married.”  He mumbled after he swallowed.

“Do you want to get married?” Alfred asked.

“I,” Jason opened his mouth to speak but closed it again before opening it once more, searching for the right words. Emotional talks weren’t exactly his strong point. _Everybody_ knew that. He shifted in his seat, shrugging a shoulder. “I mean, I love him.” He admitted in a voice barely above a whisper. Nobody else would get this little confession out of Jason, but Alfred was a comforting presence, somebody who was easy to trust. “I just never, y’know, thought of marriage.” He mumbled. “And I don’t know if Roy is up for it because it’s a _lot_. But I love him.”

Alfred seemed to think over that for a moment before speaking, “If I may say so, I think that Roy loves you as well. He has invited you into his home, you have helped raised Lian so far. The two of you have a life together,” Taking a sip of tea, Alfred offered one of those warm, gentle smiles he was known for. “If you ask me, I say Master Harper is open to the idea of marriage.”

Sipping from his tea, Jason nodded. “Perhaps...perhaps I’ll keep that in mind then.”

*******

  
  
Jason had told himself he was just glancing, just browsing to get an idea. Just in case he decided to do it. It had been weighing on his mind as of late, ever since Lian brought it up but even more since Alfred kind of egged it on. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket, Jason glanced at the window of the jewelry store. All he had to do was walk in and look, say he was just glancing. It didn’t change the fact that he felt _extremely_ out of place.

Which is why he did what he could chalk up to being one of the _stupidest_ decisions of his life.

He had called Dick. Asked him to meet him downtown, because having Dick there didn’t make him feel so out of place. Or maybe it was comforting to have his big brother there with him. Not that Jason would _ever_ admit to it.

“Jay!” Dick’s voice broke through the city noise, through Jason’s thoughts. He had the ever-present Dick Grayson grin on his face as he made his way toward him, carefully avoiding getting his Timberland boots wet from the puddles caused by Gotham’s most recent rainfall. “What’s up?” He asked as he got closer, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his denim jacket. Blue eyes took in the store they were standing in front of before turning to Jason and cocking a confused eyebrow. “Isn’t Lian a little too young for some fancy jewelry, Jay?”

“It’s not for Lian.”

“Oh?” His brows knitted together. “Steph’s birthday isn’t coming up soon. Trust me, she sends group text reminders starting a week before. Which you probably knew already. Cass isn’t really the jewelry type, I mean maybe a charm bracelet? But this store is way too fancy and I mean...are you getting something for Tim? His birthday’s coming up but I think he’d prefer like a gift card to Starbucks not anything fancy. Unless - “

“Dick,” Jason was already rubbing at his temples, regretting this immediately. What he was going to regret even more was telling Dick the _real_ reason he was here. “I...I’m looking for Roy.” His eyes quickly decided that his boots were much more interesting than meeting Dick’s gaze.

“For...Roy.” He said the words slowly before a grin spread over his face. “Are you going to propose to him?!” Excitement suddenly filled his voice. “For real? Ah, my little wing is growing up.” He reached up, rustling Jason’s hair. “Is there going to be a wedding? Can I be your best man? Or Roy’s best man? It doesn’t matter. As long as one of you pick me.”

Oh God. This was a bad idea. A _terrible_ idea, one that Jason was already regretting. He sighed, scrunched his lips to the side. “Look, I haven’t made a decision yet. I just wanted to browse and figured I looked less likely to rob the place if you were with me, pretty boy.” He managed to grin, pushing aside the nervousness and the regret.

“Right then. Let’s start _browsing_ .” Dick grinned, reaching for the door and holding it open for Jason.

  
  
*******   


They had spent _hours_ in the jewelry store. Jason had walked along the glass cases time and time again, looking for the _perfect_ ring. Not that he was going to buy it, but just in case he decided to buy one...it had to be perfect. Roy didn’t deserve anything less. When Jason’s eyes finally landed on _the_ ring. It was simple. A Tungsten ring with a single black diamond in the center. It was _so_ simple, but he felt like it was the one.

He wasn’t going to buy it. He had just been browsing.  
  
But something in him stirred. Something in him made him ask the older lady behind the counter if he could see it -- and then he asked to buy it. Dick had been wide-eyed, grinning like the absolute _idiot_ that he was as Jason paid for the ring and stuffed the little black velvet box in the pocket of his jeans as they walked out. “Just in case I make the decision to do it. I’ll have the ring,” He had grumbled while Dick kept that grin on his face, patting his shoulder and muttering a ‘Whatever you say, Jay.’

He wasn’t going to do it but the more he let it simmer, the more he _thought_ about it and felt the weight of the ring in his pocket...he was going to do it.   
  
He made a plan. It was sloppy. Maybe it wasn’t _good_ enough. Maybe it wasn’t what Roy deserved, but Jason didn’t really _know_ romantic gestures. Roy was the romantic one. He was the one that would roll his eyes and pull him closer, kiss him and mutter a ‘shut up, Harper’.

“Okay sweetheart, you’re going to stay with Steph tonight. She has _a lot_ planned for you.” Jason said as he finished packing Lian’s overnight bag.   
  
“Okay!” Lian was excited, always was when Stephanie was keeping her. Stephanie _loved_ the kid, was an a-plus babysitter.

Just as Jason zipped up the bag, there was a knocking at the door. Had to be Steph. He hadn’t told anyone about his plan -- except for Dick. In case he chickened out, he didn’t need the whole of his adopted family reminding him of it. “C’mon,” He ushered Lian out of her bedroom, carrying her bag for her to the front door. As soon as it swung open, a grinning blonde was taking off her sunglasses.

“Hey cupcake,” She said, bending down so she could catch Lian in a hug. Her eyes turned upwards to Jason. “Hey you.” That grin on Stephanie’s face grew as she looked at him. “ _So_ , I hear tonight is the night, yeah?”

Jason cursed under his breath, earning a glare from Lian for the bad word. “Lemme guess, Goldie told you?” He should have known. Dick Grayson couldn’t keep a secret, at least when it was something like this. He wouldn’t be surprised if _everybody_ knew, was half-expecting Bruce to pop up and talk to him about his life decisions.

“So it’s true?” Stephanie let go of Lian, standing up and clapping her hands together. “Oh my God! This is _so_ exciting! This is _huge_ !” The excitement was clear in her voice. God, Stephanie seemed like _she_ was the one being proposed to.

“It’s not a big deal,” Jason tried to play it off with a simple shrug. “Besides, I’m not even sure I’m gonna do it.” Because there was still doubt. Not that this was a mistake -- it definitely wasn’t. But there was still that flurry of nerves in him, the parts that worried Roy didn’t want this to be something serious, that Roy didn’t want _forever_. Or worse, he didn’t want forever with Jason.

“You have to!” Stephanie said, reaching out and pushing his shoulder playfully. “Like _I_ will be heartbroken if you don’t.” She said before ruffling Lian’s hair. “Tell Jason he needs to ask your daddy to marry him, little one.” She urged.

Big brown eyes widened as she looked up at Steph and then over to Jason. “Jay-Jay! Are you going to ask daddy to marry you?! Are you? Because you have to! You just _have_ to!” She mocked Stephanie’s reaction from earlier, clapping her hands together and bouncing on her feet.

Looking down at her, Jason gave a little half-smile. “I might, princess. I don’t know if your daddy _wants_ to get married.”

Lian scrunched her lips to the side, looking up at him with a look that read she didn’t buy his excuse. “Daddy wants to marry you, Jay-Jay.”

Stephanie smiled, giving Jason’s shoulder a squeeze. “She’s right, y’know. Kids have a sense about these things.” Reaching down, she grabbed Lian’s overnight bag and threw it over her shoulder before taking Lian’s hand in her own. “C’mon kiddo, let’s get going.”

Bending down to get a quick kiss on the cheek from Lian and to tell her that he loved her, Jason’s gaze went back on Stephanie. “When did you become such an expert on kids, Brown?”   
  
“Just think about it, Todd.” She grinned over her shoulder as she led Lian down the hallway. “Don’t be a coward!” She called before the elevator chimed open and they entered it, leaving Jason alone to contemplate where the hell he was going next with his plan.


	6. Age 5, pt 2.

With Lian and Roy gone, the apartment was quiet. Annoyingly quiet. Before, Jason had loved quiet. He had gotten used to the sound of silence but with the two extremely talkative Harper's in his life...quiet felt lonely, felt empty. He raked a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. Okay, he was going to do this. He was actually going to do it.

Over the past few weeks, he’d ran through every possibility in his mind multiple times. The outcome where Roy _laughed_ , called him an idiot and said it was all a game -- and even if that was far from something Roy would do, it was in his mind. The worst that could happen would be Roy saying ‘no’,  saying they weren’t that serious. But it was now or never. The problem was, Jason wasn’t even sure _how_ he was going to do it. He hated to admit that he’d tired himself out google searching proposal ideas. Flash mobs, karaoke sessions, _Disney World_ . All ideas that were nice -- perfect, maybe -- but they weren’t _them_.

They weren’t a Disney World couple, they were a couple who patched each other up in the early morning, who fought for each other until death. Thinking about it, the best place to propose would be the battlefield, with bullets flying toward them and the coppery smell of blood in the air. Except, it probably wasn’t the _best_ idea. Too much distraction, plus it meant they’d be wandering around until they found themselves a good fight -- not something that would take them five minutes to end.

Falling back on the couch, he sighed. The ring box was heavy in his pocket and his _chest_ was heavy. He needed to do this and Jason Todd was scared. Not for the first time in his life, but for the first time in his relationship with Roy. Moving in? Easy. The choice to raise Lian together? _Easier_ . But proposing -- there was so much fear. The idea of rejection, of looking like an idiot. It was there. He stared at the coffee table, should he light candles? Would that be too much? He sighed. “Why does this have to be so complicated?” He muttered to himself, for what wasn’t the first and _probably_ not the last time.

The knob of the front door turned and Jason looked over, the faintest of smiles on his face as he watched Roy step inside. His blue baseball cap was soaked with rain droplets, the red hair that wasn’t covered by the hat soaked along with his green hoodie. The plastic bag of what Jason presumed was takeout food was dripping onto the _clean_ hardwood floor and Jason couldn’t help but sigh. “Forget an umbrella?”

Roy laughed, a sound of pure and utter _delight_ , the kind that warmed Jason’s heart. “Kind of forgot how much it rains here,” He said, crossing across the room. He dropped the bag onto the coffee table and Jason couldn’t help but notice the water droplets now forming a tiny puddle on the table. Shrugging off his hoodie, it landed in a sopping mess on the _rug_. Little things that annoyed Jason but they didn’t get under his skin so much, not anymore.

“You forgot how much it rains in _Gotham_?” Jason asked with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

“Eh,” Roy shrugged in response, falling back onto the couch next to him. “Did the kiddo leave already?” Jason nodded and his face fell slightly. “Bummer. Did ya tell Steph to keep her out of trouble?”

“As much as Steph can.”

Nodding, Roy reached forward and grabbed the bag of takeout. “Figured we could celebrate being child-free by having takeout,” He said, flashing one of those heart stopping grins. He grabbed one styrofoam container from the bag and handed it to Jason along with a fork. “There’s yours and,” Grabbing another container and fork, he leaned into the plushness of the couch and sighed happily, opening the container and scooping up a forkful of fried rice. “Here’s mine.” He said with his mouth half full. Green eyes were back on Jason and he nodded toward the TV. “Anything good on?”

Jason grabbed the remote off the arm of the couch, flicking on the TV. “I'onno. Let’s find out,” He replied before stuffing a bite of shrimp into his mouth. He flicked to the DVR list, scanning over it. “Cutthroat Kitchen?”

“Mmm. Sounds good.” Roy got out between a mouth stuffed full of food. With the agreement, Jason flicked it on and settled back, focusing on dinner.

His mind was still a thousand other places besides in the moment, but Jason sat there and tried his best to mindlessly watch TV and enjoy the takeout. Except he was too nervous to eat, something that was almost a new experience. He stuffed back a few bites of chow mein before sitting his food on the coffee table, content just to be with Roy, be in the moment. Roy, on the other hand, had downed his food at a pace that even had Jason amazed because was it humanly possible? His container was abandoned on the table with Jason’s and the other man had quickly tucked himself into Jason’s side. If he was wondering _why_ Jason hadn’t finished his food, he didn’t ask. Roy never did, never pushed, always understood even if Jason didn’t understand himself.

The show was nearing an end, it was the last challenge and Roy...Roy was laughing. It was a beautiful sound, a sound that always made everything better. It made Jason feel _warm_ all over, from his head to his toes. The best feeling. It was happiness, a happiness that Jason wanted to experience everyday for the rest of his life. He felt a smile spreading over his own face as Roy laughed, and the words -- they just slipped out. “Marry me.” He wasn’t thinking -- didn’t stop to. He just went with what felt...natural.

There was a pause in Roy’s laughter, green eyes looking up at him. “Anytime Jaybird,” He said, that smile spreading over his face even more. “Anytime. All you gotta do is ask.”

Jason paused, summoned up every bit of courage he could. “Okay,” He said quietly. Reaching over, he paused the TV and felt for the ring box in his pocket.

“Jason?”

Grabbing the box, he flipped it open with his forefinger and thumb. “Marry me, Roy?”

There was a pause as Roy’s eyes widened, looking between Jason and the ring and then back again. “A-are you serious? I mean, of course you’re serious. You wouldn’t be asking if yo - I mean, _yes_ .” He said, pushing himself up and pressing a kiss to Jason’s lips. It was long and passionate and _soft_ , Roy’s fingers gripping onto Jason’s arms and not letting go until they needed to breathe.

“Then you should probably let me put it on your finger, Harper.” Jason grinned as they pulled away. He took the ring from the box, took Roy’s left hand in his and carefully slid the ring onto his finger. “There.”

“There.” Roy looked at it, the smile seemingly never leaving his face. “A-are we really doing this? Are we really getting married?”

“We’ve done crazier.” Jason grinned.

Roy laughed, that carefree sound as his arm came around Jason’s neck, pulling him down on the couch with him and capturing his lips in another kiss.

*******

 

By the time Jason awoke, sunlight was spilling in the window of his and Roy’s bedroom, highlighting the discarded clothing from the night before. Roy was sprawled out on Jason's chest, fingers pressed against one of the scars on his dark skin. He was snoring, which was no surprise to _anyone_ , red hair wild. Jason brushed a piece back, moving as carefully as possible not to wake him. Not that he could, Roy slept like the dead -- and Jason would _know_.

With Jason gone, Roy just moved over into his spot, soaking up the warmth -- and taking as much room as possible. Chuckling to himself, Jason pulled on a pair of sweats before he grabbed his phone from the nightstand and made his way out into the living room. The TV was still on, leftovers from their dinner still on the table. He wrinkled his nose at that but last night...being clean had been the last thing on his mind. He gathered the trash, tossed it in the can before pressing start on the coffee pot and sitting at the kitchen table while he waited.

Unlocking his phone, he was relieved to see only one message, from Steph, and it wasn’t something urgent about Lian.

_‘Have you asked? What did he say? DEETS!’_ With three pink hearts, two men kissing and a ring emoji.

With a roll of his eyes, Jason decided to ignore it and opened his contacts, finger hovering over Dick’s name. It was early-ish. Would he even be up? At the same time, he wanted to tell _somebody_ . Stephanie could wait until she dropped Lian off later, this was her punishment for the _obnoxious_ amount of emojis she used anyway. Deciding that it was at least worth a shot, Jason pressed the call button and put the phone up to his ear. With how long it rang, he was expecting it to go to voicemail but on the last ring, he got a sleepy response. “Are you dying?”

Scoffing, Jason shook his head even if Dick couldn’t see it. “He said yes.” He said quietly, not wanting to wake Roy...and still in just a bit of disbelief over the entire thing.

There was a pause on the other end and he could practically _hear_ Dick smiling. “You asked? I mean, you actually had the courage to ask and he said yes?” The sleepiness gone, replaced with Dick’s excited, chipper tone. “Little wing, I can’t -- I’m happy for you. Are you happy?”

“I...I can’t believe he said yes. I just...yeah, I’m happy.” He settled on answering the question, turning around in his chair to stare at the coffee pot as it filled. “You’re the first person I told.”

“As I should be. Big brother’s honor and all,” Dick said. There was a pause. “So how do you plan on telling everyone else?”

“I figured you would.”

“Including Oliver and Bruce? I think that’s something you two should tell them.”

Jason groaned, pressing his forehead to the wooden backing of the chair. “Can’t I just _have_ this, Goldie? I’m happy. Let’s not ruin that.”

“You know Bruce will be happy for you.”

“Do I?”

“In his own Bruce-y way.” Dick sighed. “And Oliver? Pretty sure Dinah will kill him if he ruins this and we all know just how scared he is of Dinah.”

“We’re all scared of Dinah, Dick. It just means Queen has _some_ form of sense.” Jason scoffed. The coffee finished up and he stood from the chair, grabbed a cup from the cabinet and poured it full of the glorious magic bean water. Adding just a single packet of sugar, he took a sip and sighed.

“Still. It shouldn’t be too bad. And then there’s wedding planning, right? That’ll be fun!”

“You want to do it?”

Silence. “On second thought, maybe leave that to Alfred.”

“Why can’t we just sign some papers? Ain’t like it’s gonna be _technically_ legal. I am dead, after all.”

“Because Alfred would be sad. This could be the only wedding that ever happens for him.”

“What about you and Babs?” Silence again and Jason could tell he pressed the wrong button. “Right. Never mind that then. But fine, we’ll have a wedding and it’ll be all hunky dory. I’m going to drink some coffee and kiss my fiance good morning and avoid the idea of having a conversation with Queen or Bruce.”

“I’m going to go back to sleep. Bye Little Wing.”

“Bye,” Jason hung up, put his phone down on the counter and turned his attention to fully savoring his coffee

*******

  
It was later that evening when Stephanie showed back up with Lian, a huge smile on her face as soon as Jason opened the door and Lian ran inside to find her father. "Sooo," Stephanie nudged him in the side, her smile only growing. "It went good, yeah? He said yes? So when's the wedding? Have you started planning?"

Jason blinked a few times before raising an eyebrow. "We've been engaged less than twenty-four hours. Do you really think we've started planning already?"

"I would," She grumbled.

Before Jason could say anything else, he heard a shriek from Roy in the living room and then a shocked, "What in the hell did Steph do to your hair?!"

"What did you do?" He asked as he turned to glare at Stephanie before following her to the living room to find out what exactly had Roy unhappy.

"Jason, look at my baby." Roy took Lian by the shoulders, gently turning her around and there it was -- a bright purple strand of hair near the front of her face. "Stephanie! We trusted you. She's too young for - "

Rolling her eyes, Stephanie heaved a heavy sigh. "It's hair chalk, Roy."

"Hair what?"

"Chalk. It comes out with water. Like the Halloween spray stuff. Calm down."

"Oh." Roy scrunched his lips to the side. "How about a warning next time, Brown? Can ya do that for us?"

"Maybe." She said before bending down. "Come tell Auntie Steph goodbye. I gotta go." She opened her arms and the little girl ran into them, hugging her tightly.

"Bye bye Steph!" She said, kissing her cheek before pulling away.

*******

 

Once Stephanie was gone, Roy had pulled Lian into his lap, obviously trying to ignore the bright purple streak that was there now. "So, we have something to tell you, sweetheart." He said, looking from Lian to Jason and back again, quietly asking if he wanted to take the lead. Jason gave his head a small shake because no, he definitely didn't want to take the lead here.

"Okay." She said before she began to look rather impatient. "What is it?" She pushed on.

"Jason and I...are getting married." Roy said, holding up his left hand and showing her the ring. "How do you feel about that?"

A wide smile broke out over her face as she looked at them before Lian clapped her little hands together. "Does that mean we're going to be a real family?"

"We were already a real family." Roy was quick to point out to her.

"Yeah, but I mean, I'll have two dads?" She asked, her brown eyes turning to Jason now.

He felt his cheeks heating up, panic settling in for just a brief second. He didn't know how to answer it. Because technically yes, but it was also Roy and Lian's choice whether he was actually a 'dad' to her or just stayed Jason. Swallowing, he finally answered. "It's up to you, princess. I can stay JayJay or..."

"Or Daddy JayJay?" She offered, still smiling from ear to ear.

"Yeah." Jason said softly.

She crawled out of Roy's lap, into Jason's and wrapped her arms around him before leaning up to kiss his cheek. "So, do I get to wear a princess dress and throw flowers at the wedding, Daddy JayJay?" Lian asked.

"You mean do you get to be the flower girl?" Roy pushed.

"Yeah, that."

"Of course," Jason said, giving her a little squeeze. "Just, one rule." She looked up at him expectantly. "No purple in your hair."

"But...but..."

"Maybe when you're older." He added, attempting to ignore the glare that Roy sent his way before the three of them burst into giggles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be super long, so get ready!


	7. Age 6, pt 1.

By the time Jason had gathered up enough courage to tell Bruce, every one of his adoptive siblings and Alfred already knew. By association, he was sure Bruce knew too, but was just waiting for Jason to bring it up. Jason had spent the weekend thinking it over, trying to work out the best way to tell Bruce. Quick and easy seemed the best route. In the back of his head, he was worried Bruce would be angry, would think that a wedding was stupid, that it wouldn't last. Jason wasn't even sure what marriage was and what it meant; he had never had a good example set by his parents and Bruce had never married. Swallowing, he squeezed Roy's hand as they stood at the front door of the manor, Lian standing in front of them and waiting impatiently for somebody to answer.

The giant door swung open to reveal Alfred who offered a kind smile, "Mister Harper, Master Jason." His kind eyes turned downwards to Lian who was smiling up at him. "And Miss Lian. It's lovely to see you."

Lian's eyes were full of love and affection toward the man Jason considered his grandfather. She hugged Alfred's legs before speaking, "Hiya Alfred! I've missed you." She said before looking behind her. "Did you know Daddy and Daddy JayJay are getting married?" She asked in a loud whisper, grinning from ear to ear. She'd been telling everybody she saw, including strangers, obviously excited about the wedding even if she didn't know everything it involved.

"I've missed you too, Lian." Alfred said before nodding, returning the smile. "I did hear about that and I am very happy for them." His eyes turn to Roy and he gestured toward his hand. "May I see the ring?"

Roy held his left hand out, grinning. "Jaybird picked it out all by his self."

"It's lovely," Alfred said, stepping aside to let them in. "Master Bruce is in his study waiting for the two of you. Why don't I take Lian to the kitchen? I just baked some chocolate chip cookies."

"Alfred's chocolate chip cookies are the best!" Lian said excitedly, before turning and offering a sympathetic smile to Jason. "Not that your cookies aren't good, JayJay." She added.

It had been like that since they made the decision that he was now 'Daddy JayJay'. Lian switched back and forth between names for him, and he didn't mind one bit. It was enough to know she thought that highly of him. Jason chuckled, reaching down to quickly fix her ponytail. "No, Alfred's cookies _are_ the best. Don't eat too many, you'll spoil dinner." He said before Lian took Alfred's hand and began to walk toward the kitchen.

Roy squeezed Jason's hand as they disappeared. "Are you sure you want to do this? I told you I was fine with telling Oliver first..." He trailed off, even mentioning telling Oliver made Roy seem uncomfortable. The last thing Jason wanted was for Roy to be uncomfortable in any situation, so he bit the bullet, decided they'd tell Bruce first. If he was on their side and Oliver wanted to be an ass about it, they'd have someone strong to back them up (as if Dinah wasn't enough).

"It's fine." Jason returned the squeeze, began to lead Roy down the familiar hallways from his pre-teen years, stopping at a heavy wooden door. Taking another breath, he knocked twice and waited.

"Come in." Bruce's voice echoed from inside the room.

Jason swallowed. It was now or never.

He opened the the door, giving Roy's hand a tug as a gesture for him to follow him. The nerves were in his stomach, twisting and turning to the point where Jason felt nauseous. Of course Bruce knew about him and Roy, Lian adored him even if he still seemed unsure of how he felt exactly about Jason raising a child. Was this the first time he'd actually held Roy's hand in front of Bruce? He generally shied away from that kind of affection, not wanting to make Bruce or Roy uncomfortable. "Hi," Jason said when Bruce looked up from his desk with the two younger heroes standing in front of him.

"Jason," He greeted, his voice warmer than Jason expected. Bruce's eyes left him, moved over to the redhead to his right. "Roy. Good to see both of you. Did I hear Lian?"

"Al took her to the kitchen for cookies." Jason said, shifting. Roy squeezed his hand and he had to admit that it did comfort him more than he expected it would at the moment. This was just....complicated. He was scared. Not as scared as he had been when he planned to propose to Roy, but still scared of Bruce's reaction.

"Ah. You better watch him. Alfred will stuff her full of cookies and ruin dinner." He warned, still looking rather warm. That faded as Bruce fell into what he assumed was business. "What can I do for the two of you?"

Did he know already? Would he be okay with it? It was Bruce. Of course he knew already, he had to. Jason squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, pushed aside those nerves. He was going to marry Roy Harper, the light of his life. He was going to have a family with him, raise Lian and be happy. Bruce's opinion didn't matter...but deep down, he knew it did. If Bruce didn't approve, it would hurt. But it wouldn't deter him from his plan.

"Roy and I are going to get married." Jason said, his voice hardly shaking although he expected it to. "I proposed to him the other night." Tentatively, Roy held out his hand to reveal the ring. There was silence and Jason felt the need to fill it. "I know it won't be official because I'm dead and it's not going to be anything big or attention-drawing." He sounded like a child trying to justify the need of a new toy to his father. "And, and,"

"Jason," Bruce's voice was firm and fear flooded Jason as he stopped talking.

"Yes?" He squeaked, actually _squeaked_. Any other time, he knew Roy would be smirking about that.

"I'm happy for you. Both of you," He added, turning his eyes toward Roy and nodding. "You don't have to explain it. If you and Roy wish to get married, I'm not going to stop you. I'm going to support it -- and you."

Jason smiled, an honest smile before pausing and tilting his head to the side. "You knew already. You didn't even seem shocked." He accused.

Sighing, Bruce shrugged. "Alfred started buying wedding magazines a few days ago. You're the only child in a stable relationship, unless Alfred has recently met someone and hidden it from all of us. It was an easy puzzle to put together. That doesn't change my approval."

Jason was speechless, in all the best ways. Bruce was okay with this. He didn't get a lecture about how this was a terrible idea, how this was going to turn to shit for both of them. Instead, he seemed approving and more father-like than Jason had ever remembered him being. Luckily for his speechlessness, Roy stepped in. He gave Bruce the same smile that always made Jason feel better on the inside. "Thank you, Bruce." He said with a nod. "We both really appreciate this."

Shaking his head, Bruce smiled. "Thank you for everything you've done for Jason, Roy." He shifted, straightened in his chair. "Do the two of you need help with any of the wedding finances? I can assist -- "

"No." Jason spoke, shaking his head. Maybe that was the familiar pride bubbling in him, the denial of letting Bruce help him. "It's going to be small. We don't need much."

Roy blinked over at him. "Small?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "Jaybird, you realize how big your adoptive family plus my adoptive family is? Not to mention people are going to want to bring dates and other people we know will want to attend and Lian's teacher has already mentioned she'd like to come."

"Wait." Jason blinked a few times, processing the information. "Really?"

"Dude, a lot of people are totally invested in this wedding." Roy shrugged. "Plus Alfred is doing most of the planning. How many times has he mentioned this may be the one wedding he gets to plan -- no offense Bruce. Do you really think it's going to be small?"

Yes. Jason had absolutely expected it to be small and to hear that it wasn't going to be was an eye-opener...one that made him panic and debate using fake names and running off to Vegas and getting this over with. No. Roy deserved a real wedding, Lian deserved to be an actual flower girl.

"My offer for help still stands," Bruce said, putting his hands on his desk and pushing himself up. "If you two feel you need it. If not, that's fine as well." He stepped out from behind his desk, started to walk out of the room. "We should probably make sure Lian hasn't talked Alfred into an ice cream sundae along with the cookies. That little girl of yours can be awfully persuasive." He offered a final smile back to them before they left the room together.

*******

 

They ended up having dinner at the manor that day. As soon as Jason mentioned that they needed to head home for dinner, Alfred jumped into action, seemingly excited that there was more people around to cook for that night. After an uneventful dinner, they covered some wedding plans before heading home. They got Lian in bed, read her a bedtime story and then retreated off to their room.

By the time Jason got out of the shower, Roy was on their bed with multiple wedding magazines from Alfred spread out around him. He toweled off his hair, leaning against the door frame in just his pajama pants and watched him for a moment. "I thought we were going to leave the planning to Alfred." Jason commented, a smile slowly etching its way onto his face.

Roy looked up, a stray piece of hair falling from his ponytail and into his face. He smiled toward Jason, shrugging a shoulder before flipping a page in the magazine. "Yeah, I got curious. He's marked stuff he thought we'd like. If you want to look," He added the last part a bit sheepishly.

Wedding planning wasn't something Jason was prepared to get involved with. Not because he didn't care, but because it was so much. All he wanted to do was marry Roy. He didn't care if they got married in the backseat of a taxi or in Paris. He just wanted it to happen. Still, he came over to the bed, sat down carefully so he wouldn't disturb any of the magazines. "Why not?" He offered. He picked up a magazine, started to thumb through it. Rustic weddings at farms? So not his and Roy's deal. That seemed to be in. He sighed, looking over to Roy. "So, um, where exactly are we on this wedding planning thing?" He asked.

Roy shrugged. "We were thinking the gardens at the manor, so it's more private?" He offered. "And it's pretty. Suits for both of us, of course. Lian wants to wear red so red as the main color? That's what I've got so far. It's basic but -- "

"But we want basic." Jason finished. "We can both wear red ties, Lian can have her red dress. I don't like roses though. At least not red ones. They're a little too cliche. Actually, not too many flowers." Flowers reminded him of funerals in a twisted way. Sure, they were supposed to be a sign of love but they also filled graveyards.

"Okay. No roses, not too many flowers. I'll tell Alfred." Roy went back to flipping through the magazines before Jason reached out and caught his wrist, pulled him just a bit closer. "Yeah?" He asked, green eyes looking up at his fiance.

"Are you sure you're okay with this being simple?" He asked Roy softly, searching his eyes for more. "If you want something more, something big...I'm okay with that. This is for you."

"Jaybird, I'd marry you in our living room in just our pajamas." Roy said, his hand coming up and cupping Jason's cheek, he pulled him closer, pressed their lips together. "I love you."

"I love you too."

*******

 

The next day Lian was off from school and the family ventured off to Star, deciding to get over the having to break the news to Oliver thing. Neither Jason nor Roy were looking forward to it and Lian seemed to pick up on their moods, not singing along to the radio as they drove. It was very mellow, the feeling of doom growing in Jason's stomach. This wasn't going to be good...was it?

They had all decided to meet on mutual grounds -- a little Italian place for lunch. Jason was sure it was Dinah's idea and Roy agreed to it. He unbuckled Lian as Roy took a few deep breaths, tried to prepare himself. It was always like this when Oliver was involved, Roy always got too worked up and really upset and Jason knew there was nothing he could do to change it.

Just like when Jason had those flashbacks and Roy was powerless. They could only support each other through it all.

Once on the ground, Lian let go of Jason's hand and walked around the car to Roy, took his hand and gave a little tug. "C'mon daddy!" She said, smiling. "We're gonna see Dinah. And have pasta!" Once again, the excitement was clear in her voice. She didn't know the ins and outs of everything. She didn't know Roy's strained relationship with Oliver, how the latter never really tried to make it better. All Lian knew was she adored Dinah and pasta. Jason smiled at the innocence.

"Yeah, c'mon Roy." He tried, mocking Lian's excitement. Maybe this was a fake it 'til you make it type deal? "Pasta and Dinah? What could be better?" He grinned.

Their little positivity seemed to help Roy a bit. He got out of the car, tucked a strand of hair that was loose from his ponytail behind his ear and took Lian's hand after closing the car door. "Let's get that pasta then, pumpkin."

Jason locked up the car and followed behind the other two as they made their way inside the restaurant, until Lian reached for his hand too. He took it, looked around until he saw Dinah and Oliver sitting at a booth in the corner. As soon as she saw them, Dinah nudged Oliver and stood up to make sure they saw her.

Lian let go of both of their hands, racing across the restaurant (which was thankfully not very full) and hugged Dinah as soon as she reached her. "Dinah!" Her voice echoed around them. Dinah had leaned down to pick her up as soon as Jason and Roy reached them.

"Look how big you are," Dinah smiled. "And I love that braid in your hair."

"Kori taught daddy how to braid!" Lian informed her with a grin.

"About time he learned how to do something with your hair. Now he just needs he figure out how to do his own." Dinah said, looking to Roy with a teasing smile. "He still hasn't figured out how to get all of it in a ponytail." Her blue eyes flicked to Jason and she shook her head. "If I was you, it would drive me crazy."

"Roy hates when I do his hair." Jason said with a little shrug. "Says I'm too rough with the brush. Lian never complains though."

Roy looked over and stuck his tongue out at his fiance, seemingly forgetting the worry that had been over him just moments before -- until Oliver stood up. That playfulness faded and Roy's green eyes began to focus on the ground. Luckily for all of them, Dinah seemed to catch onto the shift in the mood. "Let's get seated and look over the menu. I'm starving." She said, putting Lian down.

They settled in awkward silence then, Oliver and Dinah on one side of the booth and Jason and Roy on the other, with Lian in between the two of them. The waiter came and went, taking their orders and bringing them drinks. The topics stayed light, Roy and Oliver avoided speaking to one another and just talked around each other. It wasn't until their entrees were finished and they were waiting for Lian's dessert that the topic finally came up.

"So why did you need to talk to us?" Oliver asked over the brim of his wine glass. "Do you need us to watch Lian for a weekend or something?"

Jason opened his mouth to speak, resorting to speaking _for_ Roy to make this easier. It was out of love, an attempt to help Roy avoid the things he didn’t want face. Before the words could come out, Roy squeezed his hand that was resting on the table, the lights in the restaurant only slightly reflecting on the ring. “Not exactly.” He started. “Um, Jay and I --"

Luckily for them, Lian decided to handle the tough part, despite a talk on the car ride over about letting Daddy JayJay and Daddy handle the conversation. “Daddy and JayJay are getting married!” Lian squealed with a giggle, just as the waiter arrived with coffee for the adults and the small slice of cheesecake for Lian.

The reactions from Dinah and Oliver were as expected -- complete opposites of each other. Dinah was smiling from ear to ear at them across from the table. “That’s great.” She said and there was sincerity in her voice, it echoed Bruce’s in that way. “Do you have a date yet?” On the other hand, Oliver had shut up completely. Dinah elbowed him in the side, in a not so subtle way. “Ollie, isn’t that great?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, it’s great. Sure.”

Her smile turned into a scowl before she went back to the boys across from her. “So, about that date?”

“Nothing’s in stone yet.” Roy said. “Alfred’s doing most of the planning for us, and working with our budget so there’s still a lot of touch and go. But I’ll let you know as soon as I find out anything.” If Oliver’s response was bugging him, it wasn’t obvious. He seemed fine but Jason knew seeming and being were two completely different things.

“Well let me know as soon as you find out anything, alright? We’ll be there. _Right_ Oliver?”

Oliver stiffened, his eyes going to focus on Roy, his gaze steely and solid. “Roy, why don’t we talk outside for a moment?” He offered, but it was more of a command than anything. He slid out of the booth and began a beeline toward the front door, not even waiting for Roy to follow.

“Roy,” Jason started, after rolling his eyes at Oliver’s over-dramatic-ness. “You don’t have to go out there.”

“No, Jay. I do.” Roy said, shaking his head. “I’ll be right back.” He kissed Lian’s temple before sliding out of the booth and walking the same path as Oliver had just seconds before, leaving Lian, Dinah and Jason at the table.

“I’m sorry about him.” Dinah said, shaking her head. “He’s just - “

“Oliver.” Jason finished for her, offering the smallest of smiles. “Don’t worry about it. They can handle themselves...hopefully.”

Dinah nodded as she took a sip from her wine. “Hopefully. So Lian, are you excited about the wedding?”

Little Lian seemed none the wiser about the issues between Oliver and Roy and was happily licking the strawberry sauce off of the fork she had been using to eat her cheesecake. She had little strawberry smears around her mouth and looked genuinely like the happy child she was. She smiled up at Jason before looking at Dinah. “Yes! I get to be the flower girl.” She said excitedly. “And Kori’s gonna do my hair all pretty since Daddy and JayJay aren’t _that_ good at it.”

“Yeah, don’t step on my toes are anything.” Jason chuckled.

“I’m not stepping on your -- Daddy JayJay!” There was sudden alarm in her voice as her dark eyes had drifted to look out the window. “Why did Daddy just punch Ollie?”

Both Jason and Dinah’s heads snapped to look out the window, only to see Oliver and Roy in a scuffle on the ground. Both Jason and Dinah _also_ had some very choice words as they leapt up to go break up the fray before police got involved, words that left Lian running after them to remind them that bad words were exactly that - _bad_.

*******

 

The car ride back home was quiet -- the heavy kind of silence that not even Lian was breaking. She was sitting in the back, playing with one of her dolls. Roy was in the passenger's seat, holding ice they got from the restaurant to his swelling eye that would be black by tomorrow. Jason was driving, silent, keeping his eyes on the road and off of Roy who seemed in a worse mood now than he was when they broke up the fight between him and Oliver. He didn't know what was running through Roy's head, but he had a feeling it had everything to do with Oliver Queen being the worst kind of asshole, something they'd both known for years.

They were turning off the highway when Lian finally broke the silence. She shifted in the backseat, her voice quiet as she spoke up. "Daddy, why did you punch Uncle Ollie?"

Roy sighed, deep and heavy. The bag of ice shifted and Jason was working on finding an answer to help him out before he spoke. "Because....because he made me mad."

"We don't hit when we're mad." Lian said, obviously quoting something Roy had told her time and time again.

"I _know_ ," The way he said, Roy sounded like the child in the situation. "He just...he said he didn't want JayJay and I to get married." And Jason knew there was more to it, more information Roy would give him later, but he simplified it down to what Lian would understand.

But like any child, the next question was to be expected; "Why?"

Roy stilled, swallowed, pressed the bag back to his eye and turned his gaze out the window. "Because...because he's mean, Lian."

"But why daddy? Why doesn't he want you to marry JayJay?"

Being the black sheep, the unwanted one for years at this point, Jason realized the reason Roy was avoiding simplifying Oliver's reasons. It was him, not Roy. Swallowing, his eyes didn't leave the road. "Just tell her Roy,"

"Jaybird - "

"Tell her. It's okay."

Roy sighed again, finally looked over his shoulder at Lian. "Because he doesn't think JayJay is good for you to be around. He doesn't think JayJay will be a good influence."

Lian's nose wrinkled as she processed that but she fell quiet. Jason was hating the quiet, could almost feel tears stinging his eyes. What if Oliver was right? Or worse -- what if Lian and Roy thought Oliver was right? What if he was bad for Lian? What if he screwed her up just like everything else in his life?

They were on the road that led to their apartment building when Lian spoke again, her voice louder and determined. "I would have punched him too, daddy. JayJay is good and Uncle Ollie is a stupid butt head."

A smile broke over Jason's face and he stole a glance over at Roy who was trying not to snicker at Lian calling Oliver a 'stupid butt head'. "She's not wrong." He shrugged.

"She's really not. Although I prefer to call him a different slew of words."

"What words, daddy?"

"Words you're not suppose to know, Lian."

"But what words?"

One out of two approving of their wedding wasn't bad...right? Besides, they had way too many things to worry about with the wedding planning than to deal with Oliver having a temper tantrum.


	8. Age 6, pt 2.

As anybody who had ever planned a wedding would tell you, the next few months flew by for the soon-to-be family. Full of cake tasting, planning for decorations and overall stress. Jason had been convinced he wasn’t going to get _too_ involved in the planning. After all, all he wanted was to get married to Roy. The wedding part was more for Roy and Lian. Yet Jason had been involved with every question about decorations, colors, cake flavors, guest lists, seating, dinner, _everything_ . It was exhausting, stressful but it was _worth_ it.

All the stress, sleepless nights and overall worry was coming to an end. It was the end of August, when the weather had cooled down slightly from the hot Gotham summer and Wayne Manor was abuzz with activity. The garden was being set up, under Alfred’s careful supervision. Everyone was helping everybody else get ready while making sure Jason and Roy stayed apart, despite Jason _insisting_ that he didn’t believe in that damn ‘bad luck’ superstition.

A knock on the door as he was attempting to tie his crimson tie had Jason cocking an eyebrow before speaking, “Yeah, come in.” He turned back to the mirror, trying to get the damned silky torture contraption to knot just the right way. In the reflection, he could see Dick slipping into the room, closing the door behind him. “Yeah?”

“Just came to check on you, Jay.” He shrugged, leaning against the door. “See if you’re nervous yet.”

“Nervous? Why would I be nervous?” Jason asked, cursing when he messed up his tie again. “This is probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Uh-huh.” Dick rolled his eyes, stepping forward and smacking Jason’s hands away from the tie. “Let me do this for you before you end up tossing it.” He took the tie and flawlessly tied it, stepping away before straightening it out. “I feel like I should give you some sagely life advice now, being the big brother and all.” He murmured. “But I’ve got nothing except don’t mess this up, Jay. Love Roy and Lian with all your heart and everything will be okay.”

“Exactly what I wanted to hear on my wedding day; ‘don’t mess this up’,” scoffed Jason before flashing a hint of a smile. “But thanks Dickie and you know what? I’ll return the favor if you ever get married. Except I’d be married for _years_ at that point and I’ll be able to pass on actual sagely advice.”

“You’re not going to be an expert overnight.”

“You don’t know that.” They exchanged playful smiles before another knock on the door caught their attention. Jason rolled his eyes before telling whoever it was to come in. Once again, the door opened and Tim slipped inside. His suit jacket was missing, his tie was crooked and his hair was a complete mess. “Um, Timbo, I’m not a stickler for rules and etiquette but you _do_ remember I’m getting married tonight, right? It wasn’t just some delusion you had when you stayed up for fifty hours.”

Once the door shut, Tim leaned back against it and breathed a heavy sigh. “Your...daughter is going to the death of me.”

“Lian?”

“What other daughter do you have, Jason?” Tim rolled his eyes, another sigh escaping him before he pushed off the door. He took a few steps across the room toward the mirror, effectively pushing Jason and Dick out of his reflection. Jason side-eyed him before giving a little nod, acknowledging that yeah, it was probably a stupid question. After patting down his hair, he turned back to Jason. “She wanted to play dress up _before_ the wedding so we did that and then Damian thought it would be a good idea to introduce her to Goliath and _leave_ her down there.” He scoffed. “So I had to capture your daughter back from Goliath, who Damian’s trained to slobber all over my head when he sees me and,” Tim sighed, shaking his head. “Anyway, Kori has her now so she and Babs can finish her hair.”

There was a small pause and Jason’s eyes were bulging in the slightest. “Damian’s letting Lian play with _Goliath_? What about Titus or Alfred the Cat or Batcow? Why the demon bat?” He sighed, shaking his head. “I’m going to kill him.”

“How about we wait until after your wedding day, Little Wing?” Dick offered. “Pretty sure Bruce will cancel the wedding if you kill somebody in the manor.”

“Who is Todd going to kill now?” Damian’s voice would have made the three elder boys jump if they weren’t used to him practically appearing out of nowhere. “Is it Drake?” Damian truly was a miniature Bruce, standing there in his designer suit and dark red tie. Not a hair was out of place on his head, his emerald eyes seeming brighter than usual. Not to say there hadn’t been the drama expected from Damian _before_ the wedding, especially since he was the ring bearer and he deemed thirteen as way too old to be a ring bearer (if Dick wasn’t going to be his best man, Jason would have made him the ring bearer. He seemed more excited about the idea). Eventually, Damian gave in to Jason’s request (or more Alfred’s request.)

“It’s you.” Tim said, straightening his tie. “He’s not exactly happy you let Lian play with Goliath. And I don’t blame him.”

“Goliath is _perfectly_ safe for Lian.” Damian said, arms crossing over his chest and a slight pout on his lips. “Would I ever put Lian in danger?”

Pausing, Jason scrunched his lips to the side. “I don’t know.” He answered, rather honestly.

“Of course I would not. I care for her. I’m ashamed of you, Todd.”

“ _Guys_ ,” Dick sighed, already rubbing at his temples. “How about we do this later? There’s a wedding happening in....fifty-five minutes.”

“Fifty-five minutes!?” Jason’s mind was completely on something else now, forgetting about his annoyance with Damian’s babysitting techniques. “Oh _God_ , Oh _God_.” He muttered, leaning back against the wall. “I’m getting married.”

“Yeah, that’s happening. Kind of why people are everywhere out there.” Tim piped in.

“Not helping, Tim.” Dick sighed, “But yeah, Jay, you’re getting married. It’s been leading up to this for a few months.”

“What if I forget what to say?”

“Don’t you just repeat after the official?”

“Not helping, Damian.” Dick muttered.

Jason rubbed at his temples, everything sinking in. He was getting _married_. Obviously, he knew this was going to happen but he just didn’t...it had been surreal up to this moment. Almost dream-like. Now it was all happening -- in fifty minutes. He took a deep breath. “Okay. Um, I’m ready. I mean, I think I’m ready.” He said.

“You’re ready.” Everybody turned to face Bruce who had entered the room, just as quietly as Damian had a short while before. “You know you’re ready for this, Jason.”

There was something about Bruce’s calm, even tone that for once, Jason found calming. He wasn’t about to go into the psychology of all of this about how meaningful it was to have Bruce tell him he was ready. He could decipher all of that one late night when sleep was out of his reach. He took a deep breath and nodded his head. “Yeah, of course I am. I’m going to marry Roy. I’ve been ready for this for…”

“ _Years_ .” Dick said with a small smile. “What? Just because I play the aloof big brother doesn’t mean I don’t notice these things. Like how you were just _looking_ for a ring and then you bought one the moment you saw it.”

“And how you take care of Lian,” Tim interjected. “You love her like she is your own.”

“She _is_  my own.” Jason muttered because he _believed_ it so damn much that it was the truth at this point. Lian was just as much his daughter as she was Roy’s.

“I have nothing to add.” Damian shrugged, picking at dirt underneath his fingernail. “Richard and Drake have said it all. You are ready for this, Todd.”

“You know, we could get sentimental about how this is the first time we’re all in the same room, out of costume, having a conversation about something that doesn’t involve the destruction of the world.” Dick pointed out, his smile full and glowing now.

“We could but today’s going to be emotional enough for us.” Bruce said, a faint smile of his own pulling at his lips. “Plus we’re missing somebody.”

“Yeah, where is Alfred?”

“He’s still downstairs making sure everything is in place and making sure everybody _knows_ their place.”

“So basically in his own form of Heaven?” joked Tim.

“Absolutely.”

*******

 

Those fifty minutes passed quicker than Jason expected and then he was alone, the other four leaving to take their places. He stared at himself in the mirror, making sure his hair was just right, his tie was straight. He heard the door crack open and the sound of tiny little footsteps in high heels. He turned to look, taking in the sight of Lian all dressed up. Her dark hair fell in perfect ringlets that no doubt took Kori and Barbara _hours_ to perfect, the only makeup she wore was clear lip gloss. The dress she wore was floor-length, made of chiffon and lace and a red color that matched the ties of the men. She looked beautiful, maybe a little too grown up for Jason’s tastes, but _beautiful_.

“JayJay?” She said softly. “Alfie said to come get ya. It’s time for the wedding.” The inflection in her voice made it clear just how excited and happy she was for the event. Probably the only person in the manor at the moment that wasn’t just the tiniest bit nervous.

“Alright.” Jason breathed, taking one last opportunity to check his hair and tie for the _tenth_ time in the last hour or so. He turned away, walking over to Lian and extending his hand. “Ready for this, princess?”

“Yep!” She took his hand, squeezing it in her own before beginning to lead Jason down the stairs. The pair were silent until they reached the bottom where a small circle of people had gathered, arms wrapped around each other.

Jason could only raise an eyebrow at the scene until Stephanie spoke up, “Jason! Lian! Just in time for the group hug!”

Lian didn’t seem to think twice around the ‘group hug’, rushing forward so she could squeeze between Kori and Donna. Jason, on the other hand, was _pretty_ against the ‘group hug’,  like he needed anything else that was going to make him uncomfortable that day. Just as he had opened his mouth to comment, grey eyes landed on a handsome, freckled face, grinning from ear to ear. Roy’s hair was pulled back (all of it was, for once) and his suit matched Jason’s, down to the red tie. There was something about seeing his fiance, soon to be _husband_ , all dressed up that had Jason _speechless_.

“C’mon JayJay!” Lian said.

“Yeah, c’mon JayJay.” Dick grinned from his spot between Roy and Barbara. “Even Damian got in on the group hugging action.”

“Only because you forced me to, Richard.” grumbled the teen who was squished between Barbara and Stephanie, the latter of which was gripping tightly onto the back of his suit to keep him involved in the circle. Much to Jason’s surprise -- he didn’t look quite miserable.

“We don’t have all day, Jason.” Tim said. “You do have to get married eventually.”

“Alright, alright.” Jason rolled his eyes, maybe being a little bit more dramatic about the entire thing than necessary. He fitted himself between Kori and Roy, squeezing them both. “Is this group hug over?” He asked. “There’s a wedding we all have to be getting to.” Even just saying that caused a smile to pull at his lips.

“Master Jason is certainly right. There’s a wedding everyone should be getting to.” Alfred was the savior of the moment, looking between everyone. “And might I add, there’s quite a few people waiting for you all."

“Well,” Roy said, reaching down to take Jason’s hand. “Let’s get this show on the road.” His grin was wide, causing his eyes to crinkle at the corners and god, Jason Todd was head over heels for this man.

*******

 

The gardens were decorated simply and wonderfully. White chairs were set in lines with red ribbons and some orange flowers Jason didn’t recognize tied on the back. There was a wooden arch with orange flowers sparsely tied along it with fairy lights in the front. A man in a suit that Jason didn’t recognize stood by the arch, waiting for everyone to take their places.

Tim, in his black suit and red tie and Stephanie in a fiery orange dress were first down the aisle, matching smiles on their faces. Stephanie planted a kiss on Tim’s cheek before they parted at the end of the aisle, a few members of the crowd ‘awing’ at the action. After Tim and Steph came Dick and Barbara, then Kori and Donna. Each couple took their places on the ‘proper’ side of the officiant before Damian made his own trek down the short aisle, holding onto the small pillow with the two rings on it like his life depended on it.

If Jason couldn’t feel his own hands trembling, he would have thought it was strangely adorable for the rage-filled teen. That thought could come later.

He hardly realized it was time for him and Roy to walk down the aisle, flower girl Lian holding both of their hands and tossing out red, orange and white flower petals along the simple white aisle. Jason’s eyes darted among the crowd of people, almost unaware who all was present. League members sat in the rows, along with family friends who were trustworthy enough to be present. He caught Bruce, who would have looked completely emotionless, except for the smallest of grins on his face. Selina was next to him, looking like she stepped off the page of Vogue, a matching little smile on her face. On his other side, Alfred already looked teary eyed.

So that was a thing again?

Kate, Renee, Zatanna, Helena, Clark, Diana. Jason was naming the people he saw out of the corner of his eye, trying to keep his gaze ahead toward the officiant, who was waiting patiently for the couple to arrive. Sitting on the opposite side from Bruce, in their own little corner, was Oliver and Dinah. Dinah, of course, looked gorgeous in a purple summer dress. Her arm was tightly looped through Oliver’s, as if she was keeping him in place.

She probably was; he looked miserable.

Then Jason solely focused on looking ahead, their wedding party was smiling warmly at the two of them as they looked on. Before he knew it, his feet had stopped propelling him forward. They were stopped in front of the officiant and Lian was tugging at their hands so they’d lean down and she could kiss their cheeks, before skipping over to sit next to Dinah with a happy little smile.

His attention was now solely focused on Roy and the officiant, the man standing there with a smile that didn’t seem fake. Jason and Roy turned to face each other, hands entwining as grey eyes met emerald ones. Roy was practically _glowing_ , the sun really making the freckles stand out on his cheeks even more. Pure joy was the best way Jason could describe this moment, the most joyful moment of his life.

The officiant began to speak, “We gather here today, in the presence of friends and family to join Jason and Roy in matrimony. We celebrate the coming together in love of these two men. We remember that marriage is a time when growing love is made public, when two people share mutual promises. We join in our support of them as they offer themselves to each other. We celebrate their joy, their love and their expectations.”

It continued, the older gentleman explaining just how lovely marriage was, what it was all about and how Roy and Jason now needed to uphold that promise to one another.

“Roy, will you take Jason to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort and keep him, and forsaking all others remain true to him as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Jason, will you take Roy to be your husband? Will you love him, comfort and keep him and forsaking all others remain true to him as long as you both shall live?”

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation, nor a moment where his eyes were on anything except the man across from him, “I do.”

“Now that you both have declared your intentions, I invite you to share your vows with one another.”

Roy spoke first, his hands now trembling in Jason’s, “Jaybird, first and foremost, you’re my best friend. I know I’m not always easy to deal with, but you do it and you do it because you love me. I have never questioned that fact, even on bad days. I see how you look at me, how willing you were to take Lian as your own. I promise that I will care for you on your bad days, I promise to always be honest with you as we grow together, as we fall deeper in love with one another. I promise to do my best everyday to make you happy.”

Jason noticed tears in the corner of Roy’s eyes as he finished and could feel his own heart begin to pound. He swallowed and kept his attention on Roy as he began to speak, “First of all Harper, you make me happy everyday. You don’t have to try.” There was a few chuckles from their friends at that comment. “Roy, you’re the best person I’ve ever known. I watch you try everyday to be a better person than you were the day before, and you’re already pretty amazing. It was the easiest choice I’ve ever made to love you and love Lian. You both are my everything. I know I’m not always easy to deal with, especially on bad days, but I love you for doing it. Thank you for welcoming me in your life, Roy. Thank you for loving me everyday and being the person to show me that things aren’t always dark.” Tears were streaking down Roy’s face and he felt a single one begin to run down his own cheek. Dammit.

“And the rings?”

Damian stepped forward, handing the officiant the rings and he handed them off to Jason and Roy, respectively. More tears were shed, by both men, as the simple silver band was placed on their finger by the other.

“Inasmuch as Roy and Jason have thus consented in matrimony and have witnessed the same before friends and family, by the virtue of the authority vested in me, I now pronounce you married! You may now seal your marriage with a kiss.”

Before the man even finished the word, Jason had stepped forward and put his hands on Roy’s hips, pulling him to him before their lips were pressing together. Roy’s hands came around his neck, pulling Jason even closer. It was soft and sweet, maybe just a little bit more passionate than they’d ever kissed in front of anybody else but they had just gotten married. It was deserved. They finally parted, and as soon as they did, Lian was running across the lawn to them, hugging onto the both of them.

“It is with great honor I present to you for the first time as a married couple, Jason and Roy Harper-Todd.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personal life got in the way, so apologies for the delay!


End file.
